Ian Bell scored a quickfire 50 for England against Scotland, and could now be brought into the T20 side to face Sri Lanka. Photograph: Craig Brough/Action Images

Having avoided banana skins in a suitably slippery Aberdeen, England will turn their attention to matches two to seven of the new era, when they name squads for the single Twenty20 international and five 50-over matches against Sri Lanka that run from 20 May to 3 June. The Friday night chatter at Mannofield was that the selectors may again turn back to the future on Tuesday by handing T20 recalls to Jimmy Anderson and Ian Bell.

Anderson has not played an international of the shortest form since November 2009, when he was comfortably England's most economical bowler against Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman in Pretoria. Bell has made seven T20 appearances for England and two since 2008 – the last of them against Australia in Melbourne in January 2011 when he opened with Steve Davies and top-scored with 39 off 30 balls.

As Bell noted when asked about a possible recall on Friday, after an improbably silky 33-ball half century in what became a de facto T20 against Scotland: "I've not thought too much about it. I hadn't played a Twenty20 game for three years for anyone."

But, while acknowledging that Iain Wardlaw and Alasdair Evans did not pose quite the challenges that Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara will at The Oval on Tuesday week, Bell's innings – during which he passed Alec Stewart's tally of 4,677 ODI runs to climb to second on England's list, now 407 behind Paul Collingwood from 44 fewer innings – was another reminder that it is possible to accumulate with style as well as speed.

An opening partnership with either Michael Lumb or, more likely, Alex Hales would give England chalk and cheese at the top of the order. Perhaps more important to the restored coach Peter Moores and Alastair Cook, whose unsuitability for T20 was reinforced in the Granite City, the selection of Bell and Anderson would ensure the presence of two of the hard core of five senior players around whom England want to rebuild.

Bell identified "five senior cricketers – myself, Cooky, Broady, Jimmy and Matty Prior – who the junior players can get information from". Of that quintet, Cook is heading back to Essex for a handy 50-over game against the Sri Lankans on Tuesday – and then for a rare T20 county appearance against Middlesex at Lord's on Saturday (if selected).

So Bell and Anderson are the only two of England's Big Five available to face Sri Lanka in their first game as world T20 champions. Tim Bresnan may also return to lend more seam-bowling experience, but presumably not at the expense of Harry Gurney, the 27-year-old left-armer who made a modestly promising debut at Mannofield. Gurney should first go head to head with Anderson at Trent Bridge on the opening night of the Twenty20 Blast on Friday, when the Lancastrian will hope to improve on figures of 4-0-54-2 in his last T20 appearance, at Durham, in June 2011.

The Lancashire team will also include Jos Buttler, who was signed (by Moores) to lead a serious bid for an overdue one-day title for the former county cup kings – but who remains some way short of challenging Prior for the Test gloves, as shown again by a dropped chance on Friday, reinforcing why England will give every chance to Prior to prove his fitness for Lord's in mid-June.

The prospect of Buttler being joined by a 36-year-old Andrew Flintoff in Lancashire red remains distant, while not out of the question. He might well have played in a second team T20 friendly, only to suffer an ankle injury in fielding practice at Old Trafford. Lancashire are not yet ready to go back to the future with England.